‘Do something’: Mom of teen killed by semi pleads for safer I-29 construction zones
For four days as her 16-year-old son fought for his life, Myka Milliken was at his side, never leaving the hospital except to go outside.
She slept in his room every night, holding his hand. She loved him. She kissed him. And she hoped by some miracle that he would survive and recover from his injuries.
“When you get hit by a semi, who really survives that?” she said. “But my baby held on for four days.”
Her son, Alexander Robinson, died of his injuries on Sunday.
And Milliken eventually returned home, which she didn’t think she would be able to do.
“I don’t actually want to be here,” she said Wednesday. “I’m trying to feel his memories in this house, but it’s really just pain I feel.”
The night of the crash
Milliken said she still has a lot of unanswered questions about what happened the night of the crash. What she knows is that Alex had been staying the night at a house of a friend, who was a classmate he had known since the eighth grade.
Then, they decided to walk to a party. Somehow, they found themselves on Interstate 29 and as they were crossing Northwest 72nd Street, Alex was struck.
The crash occurred about 9:30 p.m. on June 14 as Alex walked next to the right lane in the construction zone on southbound I-29. The semitractor trailer struck him just past the bridge. The driver of the truck failed to stop and left the scene, continuing south on I-29.
Investigators have continued to look for the truck and its driver. No description was available, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
“Investigators believe it’s even possible the driver may not be aware they struck the victim,” Becchina said. They could use help from anyone who was in the area at the time of the crash, he added.
Milliken believes the truck driver knew they hit her son because a witness said the driver blew their horn right before striking Alex.
She wants the driver to do right thing and come forward and turn themselves in.
“The only closure I’m going to have is to hear that person apologize for being reckless,” Milliken said.
‘Need to do something’
Milliken also wants the Missouri Department of Transportation to do something to enhance the safety of the construction zone in that area.
She isn’t sure what could be done, but suggested maybe having better lighting in the area and finishing the work faster. She said she has seen people walking along the same stretch of highway since, which she said is sad and unfortunate.
“My son lost his life there and there’s still people people walking it,” she said. “So they really need to do something.”
This spring, crews began replacing the twin bridges that carry I-29 over Northwest 72nd Street. That required the street to be closed between Northwest Prairie View Road and Roanridge Road to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, said Melissa Black, communications manager for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Kansas City District.
That leaves the the nearest pedestrian crossings at Northwest Barry Road to the north and Northwest 64th Street to the south, which are more than a mile away in either direction.
There are barricades across the road and sidewalks on both the east and west sides of I-29 to prevent crossings on Northwest 72nd Street through the work zone, Black said.
“Any death on Missouri roads is tragic,” Black said in an email Thursday. “We can’t comment on the specific incident — we just don’t have enough information. We can reiterate that work zones are closed to the public and we have barricades in place.”
The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
‘Always Alex’
Alex, who would have turned 17 next Tuesday, was going to be a senior next year at Park Hill High School, where he was studying aviation mechanics. He had worked really hard so that he would be able to graduate early in December. He was ready to move forward and go on to college, his mother said.
“I don’t know if he wanted to work on them (planes) or just have that skill underneath his belt,” Milliken said. “I think he liked to learn so anything he could learn that was different, he wanted to know it.”
This summer, he had planned to work and hang out with friends. That was a change from last year, when it seemed all he did was work all the time.
“I graduate high school, I’m going spend this time with my friends,” he told her.
He was working at the Culver’s restaurant on Northwest 64th Street, which is having a fundraiser to help with his funeral. Alex was also an organ donor, a decision he made when he was 15 years old.
“I looked at him like he was crazy,” Milliken said. “And he said, ‘But Mama, if I die, why not help anybody?”
Milliken never thought it would be the very next year that they would have to be having the discussion about honoring his wishes.
“A six-month old boy will get to grow up because of my son,” Milliken said. “A 15-year-old boy will get to have a new heart because of my son.”
Others he’s helping with organ donations include a 23-year-old, a 78-year-old and 68-year-old.
“He really has continued to give gifts even after his death,” she said. “So the light he shined upon me, I hope his recipients shine that same way with their second chance at life.”
On Tuesday, family, friends, co-workers, teachers and hospital staff lined the halls for a “honor walk” as he was wheeled into surgery one last time.
“It was just beautiful to see all those people standing there for my son,” she said. “All the people who loved my son, who love me, stood there and watched him take his last walk down that hallway so he could go save those people’s lives.”
Milliken said she will miss everything about her son, but if she had to choose one thing, it would be him getting into her bed and lying next to her. Eventually he was going to ask for something. Sometimes big things, sometimes little things.
“Your son is hungry,” Milliken said his favorite line was. “Mama, come feed your son.”
Funeral arrangements are still pending.
One of the biggest surprises for her since his death has been the number of people who have expressed how they were touched by her son. She said she knew he was “awesome,” but she didn’t’ know the world already knew that too. More than 150 students visited the hospital while he was there, she said.
Over the past few days, people have told her he was a shining star and his light was so bright, whether at school or at home.
“No matter where he was, he was always Alex,” she said. “My Alex.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
